The Preview Event for server stress tests to bring Free to Play to Europe starts today! Sign up to join in, new players can create an account or existing players can log in with their account. As far as Codemasters is concerned, the more the merrier! Everyone who joins in the preview tests will recieve 500 Turbine Points to spend at their leisure in the Store once Free to Play goes live.

All the signs are pointing to Europe getting Free to Play soon, possibly in the next week or two!

Last night was Dwarf Night and so the original members of the Khazad Guard , Izbaruk, Haki and Anlafski went out to play. It was pretty eventful: we completed the first Epic Volume, dinged level 54, and picked up our legendary weapons (ok, perhaps a little late but like we’ve mentioned in previous posts, weve been a bit completionalist about the different zones so far). Because we had all completed the Epic Volume before on previous toons, it gave us alot of time to chat about what we wish we could change or alter about the game, and even what we might be willing to pay for.

As everyone who has completed the first Epic Book will probably agree, top of our wish list was a stable outside Delossad, we even agreed we’d pay for a damn consumable map for this, or account bound map to. You have to go there so many times for tedious little quests that its a right pain in the proverbial. We went and did 10 quests in Gwingris in Eregion to open up the swift travel route between there and Rivendell (Gwingris is the quickest stable near to Delossad and Narmeleth with swift travel routes attached to it). If your in the process of doing the later parts of volume 1, definately do for this as a travel option, it saves loads of time. The most frustrating quest is the Final Council, where you go in to see Narmeleth with Glorfindel. He travels you back from there to Rivendell, only to tell you to go and see Narmeleth in Delossad again!

This brought us nicely to our second wish; still related to the Epic Books. Just like when creating another character you have the option of skipping the introduction, we thought that once you have completed an Epic Book on one alt, there should be a “Skip conversation button” to enable you to speed your way through on the rest, or for some of the session plays even a skip instance button. I enjoyed the book first time round, and may choose to do it a second time, but I’m many alts down the line now, and the seemingly endless Council ones with Elrond and Laerdan do go on!

Something else which I’ve always thought would be good would be if items were bind on account rather than bind on aquire. This would still mean that you would have to physically obtain them in game, but some really nice items wouldn’t get wasted. How often have you gone on a run and a nice piece of jewellery or weapon has dropped, bind on aquire, and no-one can use it on that alt? I know I’ve been on loads, although as a tank I tended to profit from this, generally having the highest repair bills and so our kin always awarded me the unwanted items to vendor and recoup some repair costs. I always think it seems a shame to waste this stuff, especially with a legion of alts to equip! One that I remember particularly was on an Annuminas run, and an awesome Wardens shield dropped, one of the rare occasions where really good stats matched a good looking item, but there was no Warden in the group. We waited to see if Adam could log his Warden, join the group and loot it, but it stayed locked on the corpse. Had it been bind on account, Adam could still have had the shield for his Warden, and still have earned it.

I could go on, but traditionally you only get three wishes. Would love to hear what everyone else wants to ask of their LoTRO Fairy Godmother!

For those of you in the US, this is probably old news, but for me, in the UK and F2P-less, the new Hobbit starter instance is really good, if a little traumatic.

Gone is the quiet stroll from the Post Office, a little chat with Bounder Boffin, smack a few spiders then hide behind a fence while Gildor Inglorian and Amdir drive off a Black Rider. Oh no.

You start by taking a stroll and meet an agitated Bounder Boffin, who gets you to spar with him. Then Frodo, Sam and Pipin are seen walking along the road – this is them first setting off. I like this new addition as it ties it into the story a little more solidly, especially for people who may have only seen the films and not read the book. ( For those who have only seen the films and not read the books, your homework is to go and read them!)

Something strange is in the air and Frodo urges his companions to get off the road – a good move tactically as the story would have been alot less interesting if they had remained on the road and handed the ring over – although it does leave your fledgeling Hobbit and Bounder Boffin to meet the Black Rider yourselves, close up, and no fences to hide behind. He asks about “Baggins” and when told he’s in the wrong part of the Shire he leaves. A shaken Bounder Boffin wants to get as far away from the road and the Rider as possible and takes a short cut through Old Odos Farm. This is where you are introduced to the combat and fight the spiders which block your way. Freedom looms as you near the end but no, Celandine and Mundo are running towards you being chased by brigands. There is a stand-off, and sadly to say the hobbits come off the worse.

You awake in a jail cell, where Strider rescues you. You try to escape, and end up in a courtyard up in flames where you are forced to watch, helpless as Amdir falls to a Black Rider…….

Like I said, highly traumatic and much more fun than the original starter. The next post will be about the changes made to Archet, so stay tuned!

No one enjoys waiting for something you hoped to have a month ago, and it must be equally as frustrating to be held up by things, and blamed for things that you can’t even defend your own actions for. I liaise with independent specialist so I am often put in this position I am the face of a company, defending actions and decisions I don’t necessarily agree with and didn’t make, and dealing with issues I often cannot talk about… yes its your job, but no, it’s not easy, and you need a thick skin.

That aside, the liaison guys at Codies have tried their best. There has been a weekly update on status every friday, no it hasn’t said much more than; sorry still no news, and it has only lasted until monday at best when the impatient impulses of an internet generation have started asking for news again, but what can you do? Well they started up a fun little competition to see who could come up with the most creative way of getting revenge on the community team. The winners, who will receive a Codemasters goody bag, were announced today as:

Sined

mptyspace

Geored of Snowbourn

Milithion

Pleijpje

Robertau

Krorar

Mabusian

Sisgard/UlgaMartin Franz

So congratulations guys, you can see all the entries here. I personally like the stroop waffle threat, but have a look for yourself! It was a worthy attempt, as well as the troll events, and free travel and xp bonuses, at diverting the frustration, but you can’t please everyone.

Pretty much since I first saw the Mammutti Heavy Armour, I wanted it, but it took a bit of getting. My Cappy is my third toon to quest around Forochel (for some reason Eggy and Azbo never did it as a zone), my second heavy armour to get there and the first to wear the armour. And what a hard slog o get there! Ganin and Az both got to Kindred with the Lossoth on their travels, clearing every single quest there was, even two manning all the Battle for Forochel ones. Even doing all this, handing in all the rep items you get from killing stuff, we still needed to play the Auction Hall a bit to get enough rep to make it to Kindred. (If you need to do the same Luistins are the way to go – 700 rep for 1, rather than 300 – 500 for 10 of the spearheads and claws)

Being an armourer, and Kindred with the Lossoth I could now make the coveted Mammuti Armour, but I decided to wait a bit. Ganin could have worn it, and I love it even just cosmetically equipped, but by that point he was 52 or 53, and over level to wear it as armour. The armour is for 42, and is actually really nice stuff, better than the same level critted crafted stuff and probably on a par with the Fem stuff from Angmar. I wanted to see if I could get a toon to wear it on level. Easier said than done! All my spare rep items had been thrown at Ganin just so I could make the stuff, so Barandis would have to start from scratch, level 42, Outsider with the Lossoth.

As Forochel starts around 45, she went in with Adams friendly neighbourhood Hunter Tyri, level 53, who wanted enough rep for the port. The first zone was okay, and I probably could have survived on my own there as a Cappy, being equipped with “Oh poop!” skills, but it was a lot quicker with two. Although as you get to Suri-Kyla the quests and mobs all seem to be 48-50, so I definately needed a hand there, especially as thats where you can hand in the rep items.

By the time we hit Suri-Kyla I’d dinged 43, and with a bit of help from the Auction Hall managed to get to aquaintance with the Lossoth, enabling me to pick up the quests allowing you to hand in all of the rep items. You need aquaintance to be able to wear the gloves and boots, friend to put on the chest and shoulders and ally to wear the helm and leggings. Currently I’m about 5k away from ally so it wont be long until I can complete the set, and at level 43 I think thats pretty good going. You would have to come in way under level with friends and a butload of gold to buy the extra rep to be able to put the set on on level, but if you can I think its worth it – it looks awesome, especially dyed red, and is one of the few armour sets whick looks good on all races. Usually Dwarfs get the short end of the stick and look wierd in alot of the armour available, but this set looks pretty good. And if like me you cant face another tour of Angmar on your latest toon to get the Fem set, its really good gear. The full set gives:

2822 Armour

45 Morale

120 NCMR

45 Power

105 Might

60 Agility

45 Will

15 Fate

75 Vitality

20% Run speed, 381 Frost defence, 25% Frost disperse chance

I’m really pleased that I’m so close to having the armour now, and then once we poor souls in Europe get F2P and the wardrobe slot, all my toons are gonna have a chance to wear it!